The Secrets of the US Spyware King
Paragon CEO Andrew Boyd admits the company cannot technically detect Graphite spyware misuse and canceled Italy's contracts without investigating allegations.
In a WIRED interview, Paragon Solutions CEO Andrew Boyd said the company has no technical way to see who customers target with Graphite spyware or detect misuse, learning of abuse only from customer admissions or third parties. WhatsApp previously alleged Graphite infected phones of more than 60 individuals in over 20 countries, including journalists and activists named by Citizen Lab in Italy. Paragon canceled Italy's two intelligence contracts as a risk decision, not after an investigation, and lacks a kill switch, relying on cutting 24-hour support and updates that render the system ineffective within about 12 hours. The disclosures contrast with NSO Group's claimed tamper-proof logging and kill switch, and come as REDLattice, merged with Paragon under AE Industrial Partners, plans to go public.